- Art.- Art?!? Not LOVE?!? [see the beginning of the interview to understand this tease]
- Haha! The thing is I LOVE Art!
- How do you see the differences between North America and Latin America, I mean, your view, through your glass?- Miami is a great mix: Latin America, North America and Europe, and they all get along. And, well, with this I guess we consider the interview done!
- Is there anything else you would like to add, to convey to people?
- All artists have to get used to being alone. It is very important.
- Why?- Well, another artist maybe?
- Yeah, but, it is still difficult. You have to jump with no parachute.
- No way… that is what someone close and dear to me used to tell me: that I was planning too much on jumping WITH a parachute and should learn how to jump without one.
- Right, but the key is that you need to get enlightenment, that “Aha!”. Once you experience revelation, only then, you can jump.
However, since divine has no beginning and no end, he immediately added....
On work:
“”Work” is something that you do not like to do, that’s why you get paid! Painting and writing is a gift, it’s a vocation. When you die, your art remains. It may take me seven days –or whatever it takes me because I do not push myself- to finish this painting, but it will last for years and years, even after I die. The same happens with what you write.”
On diving into yourself:
- Alberto, I was supposed to go to India, in a spiritual retreat, to learn how to master meditation…. Instead I stayed a couple of months in New York and Miami, against my will, but I accepted fate. And I decided to have my own retreat here in Miami… I had all the elements.
- Of course! You DO have all the elements! Do you know Yogananda story?
- No.
- When he was a kid, he wanted to go to the Himalayas so badly that he would run away from his home. Until one day, his parents brought a Guru home, in desperation because of the kid’s attitude. The Guru asked him: why are you running away from home all the time? Because I want to go in retreat in the Himalayas, master meditation. What for? Why do you want to go to the mountains, if the mountains can come to you? (i.e., he could learn meditation without going into the Himalayas). Bring what you are looking for to you. And, the same with you.
- Exactly, Alberto! And that is what my good friend told me too, after sharing my decision of ‘having my retreat in Miami’- she said: “Fortunately, you are not the type of person who HAS to go to Katmandu in order to dive into herself!”On Time and Yoga:
I practice Raya Yoga, i.e., the yoga of kings. However, kings in India are not those with spare fortune, but those with spare time, those rich in time.
And now yes it was the end of the first interview. Until our paths cross again. Or until love and work determine the next destination for each of us…
3 comments:
Soooo many things to say...
On jumping with/out a parachute, and learning to be alone and falling in love. Yeah, well, I guess it's important to learn to be alone but if you find yourself being really happy alone then most probably, you will not want to jump, right? I've been thinking a lot about that, specially because I've been alone for a couple of years now and I have come to be happy. I've tried really hard to get in touch with myself and I've learnt not to get scared by what I find when I dig deep. Still, I would also like to think that I'll be ready to jump if the time comes... I'm not so sure though :)
About work... I disagree wholeheartedly, ha, ha, ha. I love teaching and it's also my job. I don't think work and love are incompatible. As a matter of fact, I never miss an opportunity to say that it is very important to love what you do. But... and there is a 'but' here, you do need to find a balance. Meaning, in my case, I can only give a good class if I don't give too many classes a day. And there comes what he said about the simple life. I prefer to work less and live a simpler life. And have time to do things which enrich my life in a different way.
About diving into yourself wherever you are and having your retreat in Miami... :) :) :)
Florencia, I am so glad to see that this guy has put us to think a bit. I do not agree with all that he says, but i do think it is interesting and nourishing to listen to other bells...
On jumping without parachute, i believe he was referring more to choices in life (career change, change in country of residency, etc)- of course includes other 'jumps' too ;)
I also disagree with his categoric work/job statement, but i believe it is an interesting view and not totally wrong if you truly dig into it... In your case (your job) he would argue that it is actually not your job, it is your vocation, that's why you enjoy it- you just happen to be lucky to get paid (like him painting).
On the Retreat... words are redundant! ;) :)
Hmmmmmmmm.... Yes, it's been both refreshing and interesting to listen to him, he has sooo much to say. And, yes, even if I disagree it's still good to hear his words because he made me reconsider, rethink...
About parachutes, OK, maybe I understood something completely different. I guess then what I think is this: plans are important, because they help us organize ourselves, give us a schedule and a methodology and that always makes us feel safer as if.... as if we could actually control something, which of course, we can't. So I think it's good to have a parachute (plan) even though you must be ready for it not to open, life is always unexpected :)
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